BIBULOUS INTERLUDE man. And of his whisky I cannot say enough* Had I the luminous wings of Shelley I might find an aerial style to praise the felicity with which it comes soaring into the ventricles of the brain. Had I the copious wordage of the good Knight of Cromarty I might say something of its bodily virtue and the great galleons of wisdom that sail upon its amber ride. Had I the point and angular precision of Euclid I might prove to a dull world the happiness within its reach. But as it is I can say no more than the truth as it seems to a simple man: that a small cup of this whisky gives you, for a little while, the sky-borne mind of Shelley; the laughter and the fortitude of Urquhart; and the Euclidean confidence of one who has proved his theorems and solved all problems. I hear the world crying, as it cries for its lost beati- tude: Cost what it may, where can we buy this whisky? Alas, a dragon stands before the gate of the distillery. I cannot altogether describe it, but I think it was sent there by the Exchequer. It may, perhaps, be cir- cumvented. It might, I believe, be recalled. But St George, though he came to earth again, would not kill it, for he is an Englishman. St Andrew would be the man to scotch it. 142